The Open 2023: How players can qualify

The field is taking shape nicely as the countdown begins to the 151st Open Championship.

Royal Liverpool will stage the final men’s major of the year for the first time since Rory McIlroy hoisted the Claret Jug at Hoylake in 2014.

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In total, 156 players will tee it up on the famous Wirral links with the chance of etching their name into the history books as Champion Golfer of the year.

Cameron Smith will defend his title after denying McIlroy at St Andrews last July, but Tiger Woods will not be in the field as he continues to recover from his latest surgery.

Exemptions are made for those including top 50 players in the rankings at week 21 of 2023, past champions aged under 60, as well as amateur champions and 2022 order of merit winners across various worldwide tours.

The world’s best players have already booked their place at this year’s championship, but there are still plenty of spots in the field up for grabs via The Open Qualifying Series and final qualifying…

The Open Qualifying Series 

There are 34 places available in events across the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and the Sunshine Tour. At the time of writing on June 20, 23 of these places in the field have been secured at events including the Memorial Tournament, Joburg Open and ISPS Handa Australian Open.

Several spots are still up for grabs then as the qualifying series reaches its conclusion, with places awarded to the leading players who have made the cut and are not already exempt for the major.

Open to all. Nature’s timeless test.

The 151st Open Championship is just one month away… 🗓️@RLGCHoylake pic.twitter.com/vlYxm1NthM

— The Open (@TheOpen) June 20, 2023

Two players will qualify for The Open via the KOLON Korea Open on the Asian Tour, which takes place from June 22-25.

The rest of the spots are on the DP World Tour, where three places are awarded at the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry (June 29-July 2), the Made in Himmerland event in Denmark (July 6-9) and the Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club (July 13-16), which is co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour.

Final qualifying

The remaining 16 spots in the field are reserved for players who make it through The Open’s Final Qualifying.

Regional Qualifying is first held on June 26 across 15 top class venues across Great Britain and Ireland. The best performers then progress to Final Qualifying.

Final Qualifying is held on July 4 at Royal Porthcawl, Royal Cinque Ports, Dundonald Links and West Lancashire, with the four lowest scorers at each venue booking their spot in golf’s oldest major.

The Open will take place from July 20-23 at Royal Liverpool. Click here to check out the full field as it stands.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.